gay asylum seekers

Penalties facing gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people in Morocco are leading to an increase in LGBT asylum requests in the Netherlands. Today two girls age 16 and 17 are in court n Marrakesh for a kiss and cuddle in public, AD reports.

"There are more and more requests from LGBT people from Morocco who ended up in trouble, Sandro Kortekaas, president of Asylum Support, said to the newspaper. Asylum Support is a volunteer organization that supports foreign LGBT people apply for asylum in the Netherlands.

The Ministry of Education is launching an initiative in which all asylum seekers in all asylum centers in the Netherlands will be taught about lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights. The same information material that is used in schools will also be used for this

Gay asylum seekers are routinely harassed in the Heumensoord asylum camp in Nijmegen, gay interest group COC said to De Gelderlander. According to the group, the gay men's beds get soaked or smeared with food and excrement and their clothes are routinely stolen or set on fire.

A number of asylum seekers will take part in the Amsterdam Gay Pride parade, but wearing masks because they are still to afraid to show their faces. Illias Mahtab, initiator of the refugee boat in the parade, says this shows how harrowing the problem still is